25 Best Dividend Aristocrats to Buy According to Analysts

10. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Upside Potential as of May 26: 18.29%

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) currently pays a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, which translates into a 3.95% dividend yield for its stock. It is one of the best dividend aristocrat stocks on our list as the company has a history of dividend growth that spans five decades.

With a collective stake value of nearly $2.8 billion, 70 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held positions in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) at the end of the first quarter of 2024, down from 76 funds in the previous quarter. With over 2.4 million shares, Adage Capital Management was the company’s leading stakeholder at the end of March.

Over the past 52 weeks, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s stock appreciated by 18% as investors were pleased with how the company handled the patent expiration of Humira. Humira was a blockbuster drug, having generated $21 billion in sales at its peak in 2022. However, as the patent for the drug expired last year, AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) saw its sales plummet. However, the management was prepared and managed to offset the drop in Humira sales, which had previously accounted for roughly one-third of the company’s top line. Two other drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, saw sales grow to $11.7 billion last year and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) projects sales to reach $16 billion in 2024 and grow to $27 billion by 2027 and maintain this trajectory in the following years. Combined with other products AbbVie has in its pipeline, we can expect the company to resume growth going forward.

AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) does have quite a lot of debt, which it used to make some acquisitions, such as the Botox-maker Allergan, for which it paid $63 billion in 2019. However, the company is generating enough cash at the moment to stay on top of its debt. If the company returns on a growth path driven by higher sales of Skyrizi and Rinvoq, the company might even be able to cut down its debt. So far, the stock growth suggests that investors are not worried and the 14.4 forward P/E ratio suggests that the stock is still an attractive investment opportunity.